“...and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...”
In 1981 Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a movie called “Conan the Barbarian”. Conan is a character created by a man named Robert E. Howard in the 1930’s, and according to the tale was a wandering mercenary who lived circa 10,000 B.C. in the area of the world that is now Northern Europe.
Early in this movie Conan is eating by a campfire with a new-found friend from the Picts, a tribe that later would comprise the people of Spain. They began to compare gods, and Conan bragged that his god, Crom, was powerful and to be reckoned with. The little Pict warrior claimed that his god was stronger; so Conan told him that Crom was great and ruled even the mountain they were sitting on. The Pict, smiling, said that his god was the god of the ‘everlasting sky’. As Conan’s eyes were drawn upwards, scanning the expanse above him, the Pict said triumphantly, “Your god lives below mine”, and Conan simply stared at him, at a loss for words.
As I began preparation for this sermon, I pondered this phrase, ‘the strength of His might’, and that made me think of all the many thousands upon thousands of other gods man has bowed down to throughout the centuries, and what all their various claims might have been.
From what I’ve been able to observe in my own study, although history is filled with gods of many names and likenesses, it seems they all boil down to relatively few characteristics and purposes; which makes sense if you realize that however the individual culture depicts the god, the same demons and the same Satan are behind them.
They are gods of the hunt, as was Artemis, the Greek goddess to whom a temple was built in Ephesus. The Temple of Artemis took 220 years to build and was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. It existed in Ephesus at the time of Paul, and you can read about it in Acts 19. She was the Greek counterpart of the Roman’s Diana.
There are gods of the weather and the harvest, such as Baal, and Pan, gods of fertility, gods of prosperity and so on.
But the thing that stood out to me most poignantly as I compared the thought of them with the God being described here in Ephesians 1, is that their so-called strength, without fail, always exists to do things for man or to man. Protect him from enemies, give him good crops and large herds, make him fertile so that he will produce large families and strong boys, favor him with convenient weather, give him wisdom in choosing a bride, and the list, I suppose, is endless.
But I submit to you today, Christian, that though we can rightfully boast in our God, that He is higher and stronger and greater than all other gods; although we can show even from scriptures that He is all of those other things in One, and that His power brings all other powers to nothing; we’re cheating ourselves and we’re setting our thoughts of God too low, if we fail to realize that the greatest manifestation of the strength of His might is not in demonstrations of miracles in the physical world, not in giving comfort to our mortal bodies or delivering us from our enemies, but what He has done in us, through Christ.
THE STRENGTH OF HIS MIGHT CREATED US
not renovation of that which was damaged, but life surpassing in quality and duration
However, before we narrow our focus too much, let’s look at the larger picture. If Paul wanted to talk about the strength of God’s might, why didn’t he talk about creation itself?
Why didn’t he talk about a God who simply said, “Let there be...” and whatever He filled the blank in with, it was?
God spoke light into existence out of darkness.
Doesn’t that just boggle the mind?
He said, ‘Let there be light” and the angels were batting their eyes for a millennium.
(I know ~ the Bible doesn’t say that, but it preaches good)
He hung the stars in their proper place and even NAMED them all! (Ps 147:4)
Why didn’t Paul use the Flood as a reference to God’s power? Why didn’t he talk about the mighty things He did in delivering His chosen nation out of Egypt? Or in taking the Promised Land 40 years later?
Here is why. Paul has been, all along, impressing upon the Ephesians the blessings that God, by the kind intention of His will, has lavished on His people.
Remember, right there in verse 18, which we studied last week, he has prayed that the Lord would give them light to know what God has done for them; what God has made them, in Christ.
So he’s not going to change his theme now. Paul did not just write arbitrarily as scattered thoughts came to his mind. He was purposeful and thoughtful and deliberate, and articulate in the things he wrote, and of course we agree, he had the leading and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
With that in mind, and going forward with the assumption that every word was chosen carefully and with that same deliberate purpose, let’s notice that he said in verse 19 that the surpassing greatness of God’s power was “toward us who believe”.
Do you know why I think this is the greatest demonstration of God’s power? It is because apart from His exertion of power to give us belief, none of the rest would matter.
In order to really understand the greatness of His power, we have to start with what the bible says about our natural condition
It says “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory”. It says, “...a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him...”. It says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick”. It says “there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless”.
It calls us ‘helpless, sinful, enemies of God’.
In recent decades, in evangelical circles, the message going out for the most part has been that becoming a Christian is easy, and it’s pleasant,... why, it’s almost fun!
“Pack up the babies and grab the ol’ ladies, and everyone goes...” is not just the sentiment of a silly rock song.
It has been expressed in one form or another from many an evangelist’s pulpit.
The neglect of preaching of Hell and the coming judgment, the practice of promising the masses that church is the place to develop a well-balanced and happy family life; that learning good stewardship is the way to have a successful financial base, and that if they join the church they’ll live happier now and have Heaven later, has brought a lot of people into the church having arrived at some mental assent that Christianity is the best and most logical lifestyle.
"Maybe it’ll settle my teens down, to belong to a nice, clean-cut group like the kids at that church, instead of those green-haired monsters they’ve been hanging out with."
"I’m tired of this dog-eat-dog competition in the business world; having to attend all the parties just to stay in the political loop. It’s turning me into an alcoholic, my wife and I don’t talk anymore... maybe if we start going to church..."
People come into the church for a lot of reasons, and not all of them are for the right reason.
Now, don’t get me wrong. In most cases, because of our prideful, sinful condition, God has to bring us to a place of desperation in our lives before He can get our attention with the gospel. But those who have been brought into the church without being made to see their utter inability to help themselves, and made to see that it is only by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit of God that they can truly become Christians, can get comfortable in the social environment of the church and go for years, and maybe always, thinking they are a Christian because they decided to be one, and never come to realize that they are still dead spiritually; and being comfortable in church and around God’s people is the most dangerous position they can possibly be in.
All of God’s manifested power, in creation, in the flood, in miracles, whatever it is, has no value to any of us, if we would be left to struggle through life, die, and enter eternity apart from Him. What good does it do me to understand the marvelous workings of creation, if I’m going to pass away after about 70 years, and spend eternity in Hell?
Now I have to ask you; how can we get away with telling anyone that becoming a Christian is just a simple decision that they make, and they’re ‘in like Flynn’?
How can we get away with coaxing them into the church like they’re joining the Elks Club or signing up to sell Amway, and not first tell them that without Christ they are spiritually dead; altogether lost to God and far from Him because of sin, and destined for an eternal Hell, unless there is an exertion of the surpassing greatness of His power to give them life and the gift of faith?
They have to be told this ~ we have to remind ourselves of this ~ or no one has a chance in 10 billion of ever understanding what His power is toward us.
He creates Christians. He sends out His gospel message, He speaks it by His Spirit to the unbeliever’s mind, He grants repentance and draws the ungodly to Himself, regenerating and indwelling the life and the Christian is born,
That is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us; “Therefore if any man is in Christ he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come”.
THE STRENGTH OF HIS MIGHT RESURRECTED US
not earthly power and vitality, but surpassing eternal, glorified life
I will ask you to sit down sometime soon, and go to Acts 2, and read the first Christian sermon. The very first sermon of the church; presented by Peter after the coming of the Holy Spirit in the upper room.
As you read, take note of what the focus of his sermon is. Shave it down somewhat, by skipping over all those Old Testament passages he uses as proof texts, and you’ll see that his sermon is really only a few paragraphs long (as recorded for us).
But what I really want you to see there, is that he has two main points. 1. Jesus died to provide forgiveness of sins, and 2. (and this is the topic he spends most of his energy on) He rose from the dead.
The resurrection. That was the message that set Christianity apart from any other religion.
All other gods promise something. There are even gods who, according to their distinct legends, have suffered for their people; their followers. But none have raised from the dead, nor have they offered to raise anyone else.
There is a story about a missionary to Northern India, who was preaching one day in a bazaar. As he closed, a Muslim gentleman came up and said, “You must admit we have one thing you have not, and it is better than anything you have”. The missionary indicated that he would be very happy to know what that thing was, so the man said, “You know when we go to Mecca we at least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave.”
The missionary just smiled and said, “That is just the difference. Mohammed is dead; Mohammed is in the coffin. And false systems of religion and philosophy are in their coffins, but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes, is not here; He is risen. And all power in heaven and on earth is given to Him. That is our hope.”
The surpassing greatness of the power of God demonstrated in us who believe, is that of resurrection life.
Jesus said, “He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life”.
He said to Martha at the tomb of her brother, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die”.
In the first chapter of Romans Paul tells us that Jesus was “...declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead”
And now he’s telling us that this same, irresistible, resurrection power that brought up Christ from the dead, is working in us to give us that same resurrection life.
“...everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
THE STRENGTH OF HIS MIGHT WILL RAISE US TO HEAVEN
not earthly prestige, but surpassing eternal authority in Him.
When Paul says that the strength of His might raised up Christ and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, we, and our place with Him there, are inherent in that thought.
Remember, this is a continuation of his prayer for believers; that they may be given the gift of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, and that the eyes of their heart might be enlightened to know the hope of His calling, and the glory of the riches of His inheritance in the saints, and now, that they might comprehend the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe; ...to do what? Power to accomplish what?
Make us Christians! Give us resurrection life; ...and, by virtue of the fact that the One to whom we belong was resurrected first, and that same power is working in us, then it stands to reason that our place in Him is, seated at the right hand of the Father.
It says so right here in this letter, chapter 2 verses 5,6
“...even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.”
and in Colossians 3:1-3
“If then you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Now I want to back up a couple of paces, and spend the rest of our time looking at this word, “working” in verse 19.
When Paul says “These are in accordance with...”, the ‘these’, are the things he prayed for them to comprehend with their spiritual eyes. And those things are in accordance with, ~ or by virtue of, or as a result of ~ “the working of the strength of His might...”
That word, “WORKING“ means ‘an active energy‘.
It is on-going and ceaseless. At no point and no place in scripture, do I find dormancy or inactivity attributed to God.
“Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”
Ps 121:4
“...and (He) upholds all things by the word of His power”
Heb 1:3
and this same word is used in Ephesians 3:7
“of which (the gospel) I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.”
Even God’s grace, extended to us, to call us to service, to give us purpose, to lead us in our daily walk, is by virtue of, or as a result of, the unceasing working of the strength of His might, to continue the work of sanctification and finish His work in us.
This very effectively refutes the arguments of those who would say that God created and, like winding a watch, set creation to working and then just sat back. God has always been and always will be, actively and significantly involved in the continuance of His creation, and most specifically, in the lives of each of His saints.
By the strength of His might, He is perpetually working in you and me, fellow Christian, to conform us to the image of His Son.
He began by giving us resurrection life, according to that same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, and although we have a place there now, by virtue of the fact that our Head is there now, yet the day will come when by the exertion of this same power, He will raise us up bodily, to sit with Him there.
I saw a greeting card once that said on the front, “Keep looking down” and on the inside it said, “You’re seated with Christ in heavenly places”.
Christian, all of this should be the inspiration for unbridled and uninhibited expression of joy for believers.
I think that the seemingly chronic downcast state of most people in Christ’s church, is that they’ve never had the eyes of their heart opened to know and understand this power that worked in them to save them, and has been working in them ever since, to make them like Jesus, and will work in them finally, to fulfill God’s own promise and take them home.
There is no victory for us to win; He has won the victory for us, and calls us to walk in it.
There is no life for us now, in the flesh. We are crucified with Christ, and the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us, and delivered Himself up for us.
There is no home for us here now. Our permanent home is established for us in the heavens, and our treasure is laid up there also...
...and all this, from beginning to end, is as a result of the working of the strength of His might, which was demonstrated for us in the resurrection and ascension of our Lord. The demonstrative process that assures us, that because He lives, we too shall live.
Can you begin to see that there is such an urgent need for you, and for Christians everywhere, to have the eyes of their hearts enlightened, to know who and what they really are in Him?
We live struggling and often defeated lives because we look on our lives with the eyes of flesh. We look around us and see the circumstances of a fallen, sin-filled, sin-driven world, and not realizing that we are not a part of it any more, continue to wallow in the mire of it, clueless to the power that is working toward and in us.
But I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
I pray that for you, because...
These are in accordance with (by virtue of) the energized, constant exertion of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...”
Keep looking down, believer. You’re seated there with Him, and the strength of His might continues to preserve you, to protect you; to conform you to His image, until the day that same irresistible power and might takes you home at last.
